Light pollution dramatically changes what we can capture in a photo of the night sky and this short timelapse shared by National Geographic will show you just how much high levels of light pollution will spoil a photograph.

Astronomers measure light pollution from one to nine on the Bortle scale and this short film, shot mainly in California by Sriram Murali, goes through all the levels of the scale, showing how the view of the cosmos gets better in less light-polluted areas. The higher the number on the scale, the brighter city lights are and the less we can see in the night sky so next time an astrophotographer tells you to head out to the countryside to capture the cosmos, you better do as they say as otherwise, your shot might disappoint.

We've got plenty of tutorials and techniques on photographing star trails, the moon and astrophotography that are well worth checking out if you're thinking of dabbling in this genre of photography in 2017, some of which are listed here: